[timestamp] is a running journal and reflection on the games I play, news I’ve read, and commentary on hot topics and conversations I have come across. These will be free to read online and printed in a limited monthly edition for $15/mo Patreon supporters!

I did it. I adventured Elliot. This morning I powered my PlayStation on, waited a moment, realized the TV wasn’t automatically turning on and changing to the input the way it normally should, went to turn on the TV manually and saw my Apple TV on, pressed the PS button again, noticing it was off, then realized the power went out and all this technology is fragile and a small power out can cause you to question every device in your home when something isn’t working…

Anyway, the PlayStation was now on. Elliot on the homescreem where I needed to wait for it to load and load my save file, as my sleep state was lost in that power outage. When I entered the world for what would be my final time (I assume), I only had a few things left to complete before I went after the final boss and acquired the platinum trophy. Again, to praise Elliot’s pace, I was able to zoom around the map, find the last few manuscripts (with some help from the Internet, as there is no needle to help track these), and that was it. All that was left to do was defeat the final true ending boss.

Now, this is where I have finally started to feel “just get it over with” and not just joy and entertainment from playing the game. There are a few reasons for this, but by skipping the cutscenes and trying to get the anecdotal version of the story, I have lost attachment to exactly what is going on. This game has some plot-heavy secrets and things to do to get the multiple endings, but luckily, they just required me to be a completionist to have access, so I wasn’t able to miss anything from my natural compulsion to do it all, but I wasn’t sure of the plot reasons I was getting here. By the end, there was some epic shit, with a resurrected, world-ending being called “Demise,” a phoenix, and fourth-wall-breaking gameplay. This was something I wanted to see, but I just had no idea how I got here. I wish the game had not felt like it had training wheels to the plot with as much exposition as it did for its simpler early story beats, and had a quicker pace of storytelling to match the excellent gameplay.

Overall, though, this is still a solid game I’d recommend to fans of classic adventure games or Team Asano games. I am sure if you enjoy the plot a bit more than I did, you will really love what it’s got to offer.

I am a huge fan of this HD-2D look Square has been selling, specifically with Team Asano. With the Octopath games, the Dragon Quest HD-2D releases, and the others, I could play games that look like this forever. I am excited about the Final Fantasy rework coming later this year, and I hope these games have been successful enough for Square to continue. Both with original games and remakes/reimaginings, please!